


Demonic Angel, Angelic Demon

by TheEigthPillarGeneral



Category: Bleach
Genre: Character Study, Kinda, M/M, Naked Cuddling, Talk about Angels and Demons, pseudo-Theology
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-09
Updated: 2018-03-09
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:18:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913325
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEigthPillarGeneral/pseuds/TheEigthPillarGeneral
Summary: According to the soldiers, Kuchiki Byakuya is the Angel of the Sixth Division, while Abarai Renji is the Demon of the Sixth Division. Byakuya reflects on this and comes to a conclusion of his own.





	Demonic Angel, Angelic Demon

**Author's Note:**

> This prompt suddenly struck me one day and I had to write it down. I was thinking about how much Byakuya looked like an angel but was as fierce as a demon, while Renji looked like a demon but was as merciful as an angel. Before I knew it, this little one-shot was born. I hope you enjoy!

“You know, I heard something interesting today,” Renji said.

Bare skin touched bare skin, their lower halves covered by the sheets. The moon shone through the gap in the shoji screens, casting a silvery glow upon the tatami floors. Renji lay on his back while cradling Byakuya close to him, and Byakuya rested his head upon Renji’s chest, tracing his tattoos.

“Hmm?” Byakuya hummed, an elegant finger gliding over thick black lines. “From who?”

“Just unseated officers talking about us.” Renji ran his fingers through Byakuya’s hair. “You should know, you’re known as the ‘Angel of the Sixth’. Me, I’m the ‘Demon of the Sixth.’”

Byakuya paused. “Me, an angel?” he murmured, amused. “Just what are they talking about?”

Renji looked at him curiously. “I thought you’d be flattered,” he said. “I mean, well… you definitely look like an angel…” He blushed. “You’re stunning and powerful… and angels are supposed to be really beautiful and dangerous.”

It was no secret that Kuchiki Byakuya was beautiful. Being of pure, noble blood seemed to help in that department, in addition to being a part of the extremely beautiful Kuchiki Clan. With his pale skin, cool gray eyes, and jet-black hair said to be as smooth as silk, Byakuya possessed a truly angelic beauty.

“Oh?” A small smile tugged at the corners of Byakuya’s lips. “Beautiful and dangerous? Well, I suppose that is true.” He raised an eyebrow. “Or is it because of Shukei: Hakuteiken?”

Renji had only heard rumours about that technique. According to rumours, the petals of Senbonzakura Kageyoshi would transform into pure white wings that surrounded Byakuya and created a halo over his head. Hardly anyone survived after a fight against it, except for Kurosaki Ichigo. Just like his other techniques, it was said to be beautiful but lethal: a perfect summary of his captain, really.

Huh. Now that he thought about it, Renji supposed that Byakuya was no different from an angel.

Not only was he divinely beautiful, Byakuya had the fighting prowess of a warrior angel: deadly, cool, and absolutely unforgiving. When he struck his enemies down, it was like watching him banish demons to Hell. Byakuya was also obedient to the law, and did not hesitate to obey his superiors, and he was very powerful. Even so, his power was nothing compared to the Captain-Commander’s.

“I mean, Shukei: Hakuteiken does kinda confirm it,” Renji supposed. “You’re an angel in most ways: beautiful, powerful, dangerous… you’re pretty much like a warrior angel.”

“I suppose so,” Byakuya mused. He glanced up at Renji. “So I’m an angel, and you’re a demon.”

Renji laughed. “Pretty much,” he said. “I mean, Zabimaru is a nue, so it’s not that surprising.”

Byakuya let his eyes wander over Renji’s form. Indeed, Renji was his polar opposite in many ways.

It was no secret that Renji was incredibly attractive in a wild sort of way. With tanned skin, intricate black tattoos, and long crimson hair that fell past his shoulders, Renji had a rather demonic beauty to him. The hungry gleam in his eyes as he expertly whipped Zabimaru around him, the almost-feral grin on his face during a good fight, the menacing reiatsu that emanated before battle, Renji could be considered a demon.

Speaking of battle, Renji indeed fought like a blood-hungry demon from Hell. Compared to Byakuya’s ruthless elegance and coordination, Renji fought with a reckless abandon, clearly a holdover from his days in the Eleventh. While Senbonzakura gracefully swirled around enemies before slicing them apart, Zabimaru sliced through flesh and spilled blood without mercy. By the time the fight was over, Renji would be splattered in his enemies’ blood, his hair unbound, and his uniform in tatters, looking almost like a demon in those moments.

In addition to being vicious, Renji was incredibly passionate, almost at infernal levels. His eyes always burned with emotions, he wasn’t afraid to let people know how he felt, and he was quite rebellious. Byakuya remembered that fateful battle, when Renji had rebelled against the law and fought his own captain, a battle that almost resulted in his death. Renji was truly shameless, volatile, and fiery, both in and out of the battle.

If Byakuya were an angel and Renji were a demon, it was almost a miracle that they were able to work together like how they could right now.

“Indeed, you fight like a demon,” Byakuya said, looking at Renji. “How you and I manage is a miracle, really.”

Renji chuckled. “An angel and a demon working together? I dunno, sounds pretty cool,” he said.

They lay in silence as Byakuya reflected upon their conversation.  _ The Angel and Demon of the Sixth…  _ he thought in amusement.  _ What a contradiction. I’m really not an angel… _

Byakuya blinked at that thought. He was right, he could not be called an angel at all. And neither could Renji be called a demon.

Yes, Byakuya had an angelic, divine beauty. But he was not sinless, and he definitely was not gentle or extremely compassionate. In fact, for all the indifference he displayed on a regular basis, underneath that mask was a demon itself. Passionate, spirited, and volatile, Byakuya was actually far from an angel. After all, angels were said to be creatures of pure goodness and light, and Byakuya definitely did not have that innate goodness. He’d almost killed his own sister for the sake of upholding the law, and had viciously sliced apart his own lieutenant and left him for dead in the streets. He’d defied the law twice as well, and he was much too quick-tempered to truly be angelic.

Even if he appeared angelic and pure, Byakuya knew that he was a demon in the skin of an angel.

And Renji was far from being a demon. Yes, he looked intimidating and vicious. Yes, he fought without mercy and did not hesitate in spilling blood. But he was not cruel or sadistic, not at all. Underneath all his bravado was a sweet, fiercely loyal, and brave man who would do anything for his captain. And while Renji may be volatile, he was surprisingly much more level-headed and kinder than Byakuya had expected. He did not rebel against the law out of arrogance or pride, he rebelled out of his need to do the right thing. Compared to Byakuya, Renji was much more gentle and merciful and incredibly sweet towards those he cared about, almost like a puppy. A large puppy that did not understand its own strength.

Despite his fearsome and vicious appearance, Renji was an angel in the skin of a demon.

To call Renji a demon and Byakuya an angel was only taking things at face value. If they saw Renji outside of battle, when he was alone with Byakuya, they wouldn’t be so quick to call him a demon.

It always fascinated Byakuya how Renji could be so passionate and spirited in the day, but be so gentle and peaceful towards him in the veil of the night. Renji was not exactly what one could call ‘cute’, but when he was with Byakuya, his behaviour was truly endearing.

Byakuya had been stunned the first time Renji held him close. He’d assumed that Renji would be a rough Inuzuri bad boy with the passion of a demon. And while Renji was passionate, Byakuya hadn’t expected such a sincere gentleness. Such strong hands had held him so tenderly, touched him as if trying to memorize his body, cherishing him and making him feel so beautiful that he wanted to cry. Every moment that Byakuya spent with Renji had him feeling warm and peaceful and loved. For all his fierce looks and brash behaviour, Renji was surprisingly affectionate.

It wasn’t uncommon for Byakuya to be woken up by Renji kissing every inch of his face like a puppy, and while it irritated him in the beginning, Byakuya found himself liking it very quickly. And upon discovering that Renji practically thrived off praise from him, Byakuya had made it a point to try and give him small praises every day, much to Renji’s delight.

As soldiers, Byakuya and Renji complimented each other well. Despite their differences in personality and strength, they both worked well together. Renji gave Byakuya a sense of freedom, and Byakuya gave Renji someone to look up to.

Byakuya couldn’t help but smile a little. Angels and demons were supposed to be mortal enemies, yet he and Renji were both comrades and lovers. Renji brought out the passion that Byakuya had long suppressed, while Byakuya brought out Renji’s gentleness and loyalty.

Yes, calling Byakuya an angel and Renji a demon was superficial, as it was only scratching the surface. In reality, Renji was more angelic and Byakuya more demonic.  _ And we both brought out these hidden traits in each other _ , Byakuya realized.

Noticing that Renji had fallen asleep, Byakuya gently caressed his face.“In the end, neither one of us are fully angelic or demonic,” he murmured. “We have a little bit of each in us, I suppose.”

And honestly, there was nothing better than that.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know how I did :) Have a good night!


End file.
